The Background

We obviously announced here on the blog that we are expecting another baby, but we didn't give you any background or "how we told so-and-so" stories.  Here you go. ;)  Somewhat for those who might be curious, more for the sake of recording such stories for our children, showing how God works and moves and provides. :)

I have to admit I stressed a LOT about when the "right" time to try to have another baby was.  For whatever reason--mostly pressure I put on myself I'm sure--I felt like people expect young families to have children 2 years apart.  Ever since we moved to Ohio I have been asked, "Do you like being a mom?  Do you want more?"  And the way the, "Do you want more?" is asked kind of comes across more-often-than-not with a tone of "if you don't want more soon, you must not really like kids.... or at least the baby-stage."  At least that's the way hyper-sensitive me received it. ;)  At the same time, I seemed to run into a lot what *I* felt like was glorification/martyrdom of having "two under two."  I knew that was not something I wanted to try for, but it seemed like all the cool kids were doing it and patting themselves on the back for signing up for such a hard job. ;)  On top of alllll that, we had Asa's health to consider as he was FINALLY on track with his growth.  He's on the picky side of little eaters, and he was still nursing.  I loved knowing that even on his pickier days, he was getting well-rounded nutrition from nursing.  And even though it's not a guarantee, it's not uncommon for a mom's milk supply to decrease with the hormonal changes that accompany pregnancy.  I felt very strongly about not jeopardizing that while Asa's palate was less adventurous.

Early in the fall, Asa started branching out and trying LOTS of new foods.  It was so exciting and gave me such peace that whenever nursing came to a close, he was getting lots of healthy variety from his diet regardless of mama's milk.  At that point we still were not trying to get pregnant, but it wasn't something I was so terribly concerned about the repercussions of should it happen.  Matt and I talked a lot about when we wanted to start trying, and I have to laugh now about a couple of comments I made.  #1  I said I realllllly didn't want to try in a timing that would give us "2 under 2."  We have little support system here since we just moved and that sounded overwhelming.  If God did it, we'd figure it out.  But it wasn't something I wanted to try for when I don't have any close friends here... pretty much acquaintances at this point.  #2  I felt overwhelmed by the "decision" in general.  When we talked about trying to get pregnant with Asa, it mostly affected Matt and me.  This time we were making a decision that would HUGELY impact someone's life who had no say in the matter--Asa.  I agonized over that.  At one point I told Matt, "I wish we would just get pregnant without really trying.  Then I would know it was all God's doing and no influence of my own."  Cue God listening verrrrrry closely to what I mused about aloud. ;)

I thought right away that we were pregnant.  Within a day or two of when we got pregnant I just had this feeling.  I just knew deep, deep down that a positive pregnancy test was in my very  near future.  Because of the method we choose to use for "family planning," I knew that most of the time we would both be aware of whether or not to expect I could be pregnant.  Everything happened a little "off schedule" the month I got pregnant, so Matt was CLUELESS that it was even in the realm of possibilities, and so was I until after everything already happened.  I figured this might be my only chance to ever COMPLETELY surprise him with a pregnancy announcement.  I didn't tell him that things happened earlier than usual and I could be pregnant.  I wondered to myself and tried not to reveal anything to Matt for almost 2 weeks.  It was soooo hard not to say anything!!  When I started having pregnancy symptoms, they only further confirmed my suspicions.  Then I took a pregnancy test.  Now comes the fun part. ;)

It was positive, of course.  I tried to decide how I wanted to tell Matt.  He called me out of the blue and said he wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate.  WHAT?  How did he know??  I asked him what we were celebrating, and he told me about a big milestone at work.  Whew!  I gladly agreed we should go out to dinner.  I set the positive pregnancy test on my dresser near one of Asa's matchbox cars, then I went downstairs to wait for Matt to get home.  When he got home, Matt was ready to go out right away.  I asked him to run up and grab Asa's car off my dresser so we'd have something to entertain him while we waited for our food.  He took Asa with him, and it became verrrrry, verrrry quiet upstairs.  Suddenly I heard him call from our bedroom, "What's this pregnancy test?"  I answered, "What do you think?"  He responded, "Well, you're not pregnant."  I said, "How do you know?"  At that point he told me he was really confused and coming back downstairs.  I was taping the whole exchange on video, although it's not a funny as I hoped since Matt was so confused. ;)  Apparently he thought I had pulled a positive test out from when I was pregnant with Asa for nostalgia's sake (?!?!).  It was pretty funny to see everything finally click and Matt realize this was a new test for a different baby! :)

Of course our little table of 3 +1 stowaway was abuzz over dinner with, "Oh my goodness!  Can you believe this?!  We're really having another baby!!"  Lots of shocked smiles for both of us.  In reality, it came only a couple of months before we talked about "trying," so I'm not sure why it was so shocking, but it was! :)

Let's review for just a moment:
#1 Becca says, "I don't to try for 2 under 2."  God's plan:  This baby is due a week and a half after Asa's 2nd birthday--ha!
#2 Becca says, "I wish we would get pregnant without actually trying."  God's plan:  got that covered, too. ;)

As surprising as it was, we are so thankful for this little life!  God has provided a patient and understanding husband as I've felt much more sick this time around and for much longer, despite that I've had more energy overall than I did with Asa.. which is sure helpful for keeping up with him!  We had a referral for a doctor we feel comfortable with.  I grieved not getting to deliver with my midwife in Florida again, but God has reminded me that everything is for a season.  And while we might not be getting the complete experience we loved with the midwives, the care we are getting from our very friendly and super well-educated, not c-section-happy OB who comes so highly recommended it's unbelievable is everything that's MOST important to us about prenatal care and delivery.  God has provided for our NEEDS (another recurring theme of this move.... wants vs. needs).  And just when the reality of living here 7+ months, still having only acquaintances, and being stuck inside most days during a frigid winter settled in, we found a Sunday school class to visit that seemed like a WONDERFUL fit last week.  Again--God provides.

Stay tuned for "How we told our families" :)